Murdock Nebraska News - January 21, 2026

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BOARD MEETING MINUTES
VILLAGE OF MURDOCK
January 6, 2026

The Village of Murdock Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Village Hall. Roll call as follows; Lee Towle, Michelle Chesnut, Tom Miner, Justin Holub and clerk were present. Dave Nuss was absent.

The minutes from the previous December regular meeting were read. Motion was made by Holub and seconded by Towle to approve the December meeting minutes, and the motion carried unanimously by all members.
The following checks were approved for payment: Windstream/Kinetic ph/int-575.51; OPPD elect.-1064.48; Cass Co. RWD#2 553,000 gals-3041.50; St of NE PHE Lab water test-185.00; Ashland Gazette/Column Software, PBC publishing - Dec. Mtg Minutes & Notice of Mtg-173.97; Faubion mileage/reg.wat. - 211.77; R.Stroy payroll-1549.86 (Elect. Payment); Ashland Disposal Service garbage-2864.97; Black Hills Energy-gas service-432.83; Zito Media-Internet-61.00; JEO construction services 2nd St project-6042.50; JEO site inspection lagoons 863.75; JEO road program; 600; Norton antivirus 152.96 village computer; Frontier Coop-diesel-11.08; Napa plow truck & parts & sandtruck battery-220.97; Ty’s Outdoor Power 310.61; David Nuss-mileage/hr for water samples-157.92; NE Dept. of Revenue sales & use tax Dec.-94.43 (Elect. Payment); Murdock Rural Fire Dept. Dec./Last Payment-7500.; Municipal Supply parts to fix water main breaks 866.11; Lovell Excavating emergency water main breaks-5720.00; Constellation gas utility service-90.54; One Call Concepts, Inc 811 locate fees-10.23; Blackstrap street salt-271.25; NE Dept. of Revenue 941N 4th Qtr NE income tax withholding-171.42; US Treasury 941 4th Qtr Fed Tax Return-1638.; Pavers Inc. 2nd street project finished-148,455.75

The following discussions/updates were held concerning old business.
On December 5th, 2025 Burton Asphalt was sent a Certified Letter & an Email regarding the refunds of the deposits for the Asphalt Patching, Crack Repair, and Seal Coating. The letter stated he had 10 days from the date of the letter 12/5/25, to tender payment in the amount of $13,750. On December 17th, Dave Nuss, Chairman at that time, called Burton. Burton replied that he had not as of that date received the letter or email. Clerk followed up on the same date with an email request to Burton. No reply. The attorney was contacted to give the Village their next options on how to proceed. Two Small Claims Court claims will be submitted in the County Court of Cass County, NE very soon. These will be served to Burton Ashpalt via law enforcement.

2nd street project has been completed, by Pavers (Contractor).
Several streetlights are still out on the East end of Nebraska St. Miner will look into this.
Village Board may investigate finding a new qualified street engineer for 2027 other than our current provider. No action is taken currently. Our current engineering firm’s contract doesn’t expire until 12/31/26. Tabled until a future date.

Just a reminder that if you are NOT using Auto-Debit / Auto-Pay for your town Utilities, the Village would like to encourage you with an incentive. If you would like to sign-up for this simple and easy service, forms will be available at the Post Office, and now at Corn Growers State Bank, or you can message the clerk at either 402-867-4034 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she will be able to email you a form. To receive the incentive of $25 please sign up within 6 months, ending May 4th, 2026.

Alleyways were the next topic. Mike Hanson representing the Ebenezer United Methodist Church Board of Trustees of Murdock, provided an official letter to the Village of Murdock, Board Members. The letter, as stated below:

Dear Members of the Village Board of Trustees:

On behalf of the Ebenezer United Methodist Church Board of Trustees, this letter serves as a formal request to the Village of Murdock to consider the vacation and abandonment of a portion of a public alley adjacent to church property, for the purpose of formally creating a dead-end alleyway.
This request is made pursuant to the authority granted to Nebraska municipalities under Nebraska Revised Statutes, including Neb. Rev. Stat. § 15-701 et seq., which authorize villages and cities to vacate and abandon streets and alleys that are no longer required for public use, subject to required notice, public hearing, and approval.

Description of the Alley

• General Location: the alleyway between Kansas and Wyoming Streets that runs from 1st to 2nd Street
  Portion Requested for Vacation: The portion of the alley that connects the two parcels of land owned by the church from East to West
  Purpose and Justification
• The portion of the alley identified above currently functions as a dead-end alley and no longer serves a necessary public access or transportation purpose. Continued designation as a public right-of-way provides little or no public benefit and presents ongoing maintenance, safety, and land-use concerns.

Vacating and abandoning this alley segment would:

• Formalize its existing dead-end condition;
• Reduce unnecessary public maintenance obligations; and
• Improve safety and functionality for the surrounding properties and the church campus.

Utilities and Access
The Board of Trustees understands and acknowledges that the Village of Murdock may reserve perpetual utility easements for any existing or future public utilities located within the alley area, consistent with Nebraska law. The requested vacation is not expected to adversely impact emergency access or public services.

Request for Village Action
Accordingly, the Ebenezer United Methodist Church Board of Trustees respectfully requests that the Village of Murdock:

1. Accept this request for consideration;
2. Upon completion of the required process, approve the vacation and abandonment of the described alley segment to establish a permanent dead-end.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this request. The Board of Trustees is available to provide any additional information, documentation, or coordination needed to assist the Village in its review.
Respectfully submitted,

EBENEZER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
BoardofTrustees
MichaelHanson
LizMurdoch
JimPanska
MattStewart
LucasStock
Julie Synovec

Authorized Signature
Michael Hanson

Miner made mention that all alleyways still need to be passable for emergency equipment. This letter, along with a map of the entire block and alleyways, will be sent to the Village attorney for advisement. Arguments were heard from both sides on this issue by residents attending the board meeting. If the church and the Village come to an agreement one of the considerations will be how to enforce the entry into the alley from the South. It was mentioned that possibly a Dead-End sign or 2 posts with a chain across would be a way to keep vehicles from entering this section of alleyway. The Village did make it clear that they would not “abandon” any of the alleyways in Murdock. A citizen mentioned that if this is approved, as it states in the letter that the Village would be setting a precedent & there could be a possibility that the Village wouldn’t have any recourse if others requested closure of another alleyway. The Board took this under consideration. Tabled until the February meeting, once advisement comes back from the Village attorney.

JEO – options for water main breaks. JEO & Lovell Excavating recommend the Village try to assess the isolation valves we have and identify the ones that can be found and which one’s work. In spring the Village will put a map together.

Both a citizen and a board member brought up the water concerns at the E-M High School. Miner will work with the E-M Schools Superintendent to discuss the issues, concerns and possible solutions. It was suggested that the Village replace the water meter, however, they would like to rule out all other options first as replacing this specific meter is expensive. This isn’t the typical meter that was replaced in all Village households last year.

Grants for Infrastructure are still being pursued; however, our town’s Median income is greater than the threshold to be eligible to receive them.

Discussion was made regarding the street salt that was spread last month and to remind everyone to not use street salt on the newly repaired 2nd street until next winter.
A suggestion was made to keep copies of the Snow Emergency Routes in various places for availability when needed.

A citizen also requested an update on the previous Agenda items regarding bank loan and accounts. Miner said that the Village is staying with Corn Growers State Bank. Corn Growers offered the village a competitive interest rate and the ability to discuss with the Village for any future loan needs.
Holub mentioned that the Board will seek to set time limits on discussions, from any one person at the board meetings, and to maintain professionalism.

A citizen let the board members know that they have filed a lawsuit against the Village of Murdock. One of the board members made social media comments while in an official compacity. The lawsuit is for Defamation of Character. The citizen will drop the lawsuit if the member apologizes and resigns.

The Board discussed the need for a replacement in case the Chairman cannot attend a board meeting. A permanent Chairperson Pro Tempore, is elected by the Village Board, and holds the same powers & duties as the regular Chairman when filling the role. Motion was made by Holub and second by Chesnut to appoint Lee Towle as Chairman Pro Tempore. All were in favor by RCV.

A citizen requested that another citizen, at the meeting, be cognizant of what they place out on social media to others, and commenting about the first citizen. The Village Board discussed the situation with the first citizen and suggested how to approach such situations in the future.

Towle mentioned there are still several repairs that need to be addressed regarding open street sections. Several of these are the Villages responsibilities over the water main break areas and others are property owners’ responsibility. Since they will need concreted and will need to wait until the weather is more desirable to repair.

An update to last month question on the costs of the 2 water main breaks that the Village has recently had. Lovell Excavating is the company that has performed the work on both main breaks. The actual cost is around approximately $5,500 total.

The homeowners had concerns about the alleyway being to high against his property. Miner will look into this.

Holub made a motion & requested that the Board move to Executive Session. Chesnut second. The Board Entered Executive Session Time: 8:41 pm. Discussion was regarding clerks review. Exited Executive Session Time: 9:02 pm. Holub motioned to Exit Executive Session. Towle Second.
Clerks 6 mo. Review was discussed. No salary increase.

There being no further business, the motion was made by Chesnut and second by Holub that the meeting close and the next regular meeting will be Tuesday February 3rd, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Murdock Village Hall, Motion carried unanimously by all members

Rosetta A. Stroy- Clerk/Treasurer

Thomas D. Miner- Chairman

ELMWOOD-MURDOCK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IS ADVERTISING FOR THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS:

SUBSTITUTE BUS DRIVERS / ACTIVITY BUS DRIVERS

The school district will pay the costs associated with you obtaining the required CDL with a school bus and passenger bus permit, and will pay for all classes associated with driving a school bus, as long as you complete all requirements. The school district will also pay an hourly wage for the time associated with obtaining your CDL. Payment will take place after a designated amount of time driving for the school district.

Please contact Ryan Knippelmeyer at 867-2341 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

The classified application can be found on the school’s website at:
http://www.emknights.org/o/elmwoodmurdock/browse/13037

PARA-PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS:
Full-Time Special Education Para-Professionals at the elementary school (we are
looking to hire TWO additional staff members to support our students and
teachers).
Starting Pay: $15.00 per hour
Benefits: Employee Health Insurance paid by the District, State Retirement,
Sick/Personal Leave Provisions
Work schedule follows the school calendar
Start Date: As soon as possible
Please contact Trisha Nichelson at 402-994-2125 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for
more information.

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DO YOU NEED HELP with FOOD, HOUSING or OTHER EMERGENCY SERVICES?
SENCA (Southeast Nebraska Community Action) is HERE to HELP YOU!
https://www.senca.org/

To drop off donations or pick up food at the local food pantry, you need to make an appointment.

Monday - Friday
8am - 4:30 pm
Call or text for appointment, 402-297-7418

SENCA Cass County Outreach
First Presbyterian Church, lower level
701 Chicago Ave.
Plattsmouth, NE 68048

(Please enter the lower level on the north side of the church at the driveway directly across from Oakmont Drive, off of Chicago Avenue.)

City Of Omaha Police Impound Vehicle Auction January 24, 2026 at 9:00am
7809 F Street, Omaha, NE 68127

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And download foster application!

Happy Paws Plattsmouth is a volunteer-powered 501(c)(3) charitable organization serving Cass, Sarpy, and Douglas Counties
with one mission: to transform the lives of animals in need while enriching the families who welcome them home.

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